Mill for the refining of cocoa, chocolate, paints, lacquers, enamels and the like

ABSTRACT

A mill for the refining of cocoa, chocolate, paints, lacquers, enamels and the like, which consists of a vertically extending stationary outer cylindrical casing, and a cylindrical rotor supported for revolvable movement concentrically within said casing. Partitions are provided on the outer wall of the rotor to form means supporting balls for rotation. The balls are thus positively guided whereby to exert a comminuting action by rolling alone. The balls as thus supported are arranged in a spiral path, defined by the partition means, extending along the outer wall of the rotor.

United States Patent 1191 1111 3,709,442 Consoli 1451 Jan. 9, 1973 54] MILL FOR THE REFINING OF COCOA, 2,204,140 6/1940 Langbein ..241/10s CHOCOLATE, PAINTS, LACQUERS, 2,595,117 4/1952 Ahlmann.... ....241/172 x M LS D TH K 2,792,994 5/1957 Szego ..24l/105 [75] Inventor: Claudio Consoli, Milan, Italy FOREIGN PATENTS O R APPLICATIONS [73] Assignee: Carle & Montanari S.p.A., Milan, 2,64] 6/1876 Great Britain 241/172 Italy 397,655 3/1909 France ..24l/l73 [22] Filed: 1970 Primary Examiner-Robert Spruill [21] Appl. No.: 81,072 Attorney Kirschstein, Kirschstein, Ottinger & Frank [30] Foreign Application Priority Data [57] ABSTRACT A mill for the refining of cocoa, chocolate, paints, Oct. 18, 1969 Italy ..23544 A/69 lacquers enamels and the like which consists ofa tically extending stationary outer cylindrical casing, "241/ and a cylindrical rotor supported for revolvable move- [58] ia 105 107 ment concentrically within said casing. Partitions are 241/109 1 provided on the outer wall of the-rotor to form means 1, R 8 supporting balls for rotation. The balls are thus positively guided whereby to exert a comminuting action L by rolling alone. The balls as thus supported are ar- [56] References Cited ranged in a spiral path, defined by the partition means,

UNITED STATES PATENTS extending along the outer wall of the rotor.

1,397,157 2 1933 Wells ..24l/l06 x 6 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEUJAN 9:975 3,709,442

SHEET 1 [IF 3 INVENTOR. CLHUD\O CONSOLI BY 61441434, VLA

MILL FOR THE REFINING OF COCOA, CHOCOLATE, PAINTS, LACQUERS, ENAMELS AND THE LIKE This invention concerns a ball or roller mill for the refining of cocoa, chocolate, paints, lacquers, enamels and the like.

As already well known, the twoor more roller refiner, a so called calender has been utilized for the refining of cocoa, chocolate, paints and other like products.

Some time ago the need was felt to have the particle size of the above materials further reduced, and since the refiners up to then known did not achieve such reduction, other novel refining means were contrived.

One of such novel means was a ball or pebble mill that essentially consists of a cylindric vessel, loosely filled with metal or ceramic balls or pebbles. A strong vibration was then imparted to said vessel, which resulted in an intensive hammering action exerted amongst the balls or pebbles. The product to be refined was pumped through the pebble filling, wherein it was finely comminuted.

Another known method was based on the same mill as above described where, however, the balls or pebbles were moved by different lengths of blades radially extending from a central drives shaft. In operation, the balls of pebbles were continuously lifted and caused to fall down by said blades, thereby hammering and comminuting the product that was being processed.

However, the heretofore known methods, although achieving the required degree of cornminuting did not obtain wholly satisfactory results. Some of the far from negligible drawbacks were as follows:

A very high specific power consumption.

Quick wear of balls or pebbles.

Presence of metal or other foreign particles in the refined product in an unacceptably high degree.

Now uniform refining degree.

Which results as a whole in:

a. Very high operating costs, and: b. A rather low-grade product.

This invention obviates the drawbacks of the heretofore known methods by the provision of a ball mill which, in addition to its manifest operating advantages, can be also installed at a reasonably low cost.

The above and further purposes are attained by the mill for the refining of cocoa, chocolate, paints, lacquers, enamels and the like, according to this invention, which is characterized in that it consists of a vertically extending, stationary outer cylindric casing, wherein an also cylindric rotor is revolvingly fitted.

Partitions are provided on the outer wall of said rotor to form means for supporting balls for rotation. The halls are thus positively guided whereby to exert a comminuting action by rolling alone. The partitions define a spiral path extending along the outer wall of the rotor.

The invention will be disclosed in the following description of an embodiment fitted with balls and shown in the accompanying drawings, the description and drawings being given as a now restrictive example only. In the drawings:

FIG. I is a vertical axial section of the mill;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevation view of the rotor, the balls and the ball-guiding, rotor-carried projections;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a horizontal section of the structure shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, and in particular to FIG. 1 thereof, 1 is the machine bed and 2 is the geared motor by which the RPM of a rotor 4 can be suitably adjusted. 3 is the driven shaft of the rotor. S are the projections formed along a spiral path on the outer rotor wall, and between which the balls are positively guided. The double-walled cylindric casing 7 shows an intervening space 8, wherein a suitable fluid is circulated for heating or cooling the mill. Said cavity wall is formed with ports 9 and 10 for the inlet and the outlet, respectively, of said fluid. The product is fed to the mill by a pump 11 through a duct 12 and the inlet port 12a of casing 7; the ground product is discharged through the upper outlet port 13. The direction in which the heating or cooling fluid is circulated in FIG. 1 is illustrated by arrows f, and f in the inlet and outlet ports, respectively. The direction of travel of product is indicated by the arrows f and f, also in the inlet and outlet ports, respectively.

FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 show how the balls 6 are positively guided by the band-shaped elements 5 (projections), i.e. partitions, extending along a spiral path and which design is clearly shown, above all in FIG. 4.

The balls are loose fitted in their seats and are freely movable in a radial direction.

When the rotor is started, the balls are urged by centrifugal force agains the casing inner wall, rolling simultaneously thereon, whereby a rolling frictional action is exerted by them. The pressure under which said balls are urged against the wall of cylindric casing 7 can be adjusted by suitably controlling the rotor speed.

When the product to be refined is fed to the mill by the pump 11, it will be forced to pass into the spiral grooves formed by the projections 5, whereby it is submitted to the action of the balls 6, by which the particles are comminuted.

The purpose, as required in each case, can be attained by adjusting the hourly throughput of different products and the rotor speed.

Long practical tests to which the mill according to the invention has been submitted, have proved that the problem of thorough refining of cocoa, chocolate, paints, lacquers, enamels and the like, has been definitively and efficiently solved.

I claim:

1. A ball mill for the refining of cocoa, chocolate, paints, lacquers, enamels and the like, said mill comprising:

a. a vertically extending cylindrical casing,

b. a tubular rotor having an outer wall,

c. means mounting said, rotor for rotation concentrically within said casing,

d. a plurality of balls,

e. partition means rotatably-supporting said balls in fixed positions for individual rotation of each ball,

f. said partition means defining a spiral path extending along the outer wall of the :rotor,

g. said spiral path being adjacent. the inner wall of the casing and spaced therefrom,

h. all of said balls traveling with said rotor in circular paths in horizontal planes about the axis of rotation of the rotor,

i. said spiral path constituting a passageway for the product passed through the mill whereby the balls upon such rotation by rolling action comminute such material passing through such spiral path.

2. A mill as set forth in claim 1 wherein the balls are loosely fitted in the partition means so as to permit radial movement of the balls so that when the rotor is rotated the balls are urged by centrifugal force against the inner walls of the casing so that a rolling frictional action is exerted by the balls.

3. A mill as set forth in claim 1 wherein the partition means constitute radially extending portions between which the balls are seated, said partition means being defined to provide a guiding portion above and a guiding portion below each ball and a portion between each pair of balls in the same convolution of the spiral path.

4. A mill as set forth in claim 1 wherein the casing constitutes a double wall cylinder and wherein means is provided to circulate a heat exchange fluid between the walls of said cylinder in order to regulate the temperature inside the mill in accordance with the product that is being pro'cessed.

5. A mill as set forth in claim 4 wherein the casing is formed with a lower inlet port and an upper outlet port connected to the space between the walls of the cylinder for flow of the heat exchange fluid.

6. A mill as set forth in claim 1 wherein the casing is provided with a lower port and an upper port for the inlet and outlet, respectively, of the product which is to be processed by said mill. 

1. A ball mill for the refining of cocoa, chocolate, paints, lacquers, enamels and the like, said mill comprising: a. a vertically extending cylindrical casing, b. a tubular rotor having an outer wall, c. means mounting said, rotor for rotation concentrically within said casing, d. a plurality of balls, e. partition means rotatably supporting said balls in fixed positions for individual rotation of each ball, f. said partition means defining a spiral path extending along the outer wall of the rotor, g. said spiral path being adjacent the inner wall of the casing and spaced therefrom, h. all of said balls traveling with said rotor in circular paths in horizontal planes about the axis of rotation of the rotor, i. said spiral path constituting a passageway for the product passed through the mill whereby the balls upon such rotation by rolling action comminute such material passing through such spiral path.
 2. A mill as set forth in claim 1 wherein the balls are loosely fitted in the partition means so as to permit radial movement of the balls so that when the rotor is rotated the balLs are urged by centrifugal force against the inner walls of the casing so that a rolling frictional action is exerted by the balls.
 3. A mill as set forth in claim 1 wherein the partition means constitute radially extending portions between which the balls are seated, said partition means being defined to provide a guiding portion above and a guiding portion below each ball and a portion between each pair of balls in the same convolution of the spiral path.
 4. A mill as set forth in claim 1 wherein the casing constitutes a double wall cylinder and wherein means is provided to circulate a heat exchange fluid between the walls of said cylinder in order to regulate the temperature inside the mill in accordance with the product that is being processed.
 5. A mill as set forth in claim 4 wherein the casing is formed with a lower inlet port and an upper outlet port connected to the space between the walls of the cylinder for flow of the heat exchange fluid.
 6. A mill as set forth in claim 1 wherein the casing is provided with a lower port and an upper port for the inlet and outlet, respectively, of the product which is to be processed by said mill. 